Elvis Presley filmography
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In 1956, following his rise to stardom in the rock and roll musical arena, singer Elvis Presley launched a parallel career as a film actor, beginning with the musical western film, Love Me Tender (although he had previously appeared in an unreleased 1955 production, The Pied Piper of Cleveland). The majority of Presley's films were of the musical-comedy genre (examples include Loving You and Blue Hawaii) with poor scripting and similar plotlines, although he also appeared in dramatic films with musical interludes (examples include Jailhouse Rock and King Creole). He also made two non-musical films, both westerns: Flaming Star and Charro, although he still performed at least one song in each. By the mid-1960s, Presley's career was primarily focused on film production, with virtually his only releases of new material during this time being soundtrack recordings.
The quality of Presley's films varied widely, and a quote attributed to Presley in the documentary This is Elvis alleges some of the films even made him physically ill. Following the 1969 production, Change of Habit, Presley shifted his career back to recording and touring and his remaining film appearances were in two concert films/documentaries in the early 1970s, although Presley reportedly continued to consider dramatic movie roles.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Trivia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Love Me Tender | Clint Reno | First movie role. The only film in which Presley's character dies on-screen; also the only movie in which he did not get top billing. He was billed third, after Richard Egan and Debra Paget. |
| 1957 | Loving You | Jimmy Tompkins (Deke Rivers) | First Elvis film in color. Presley's parents were cast as audience members. After his mother's death in 1958, Elvis never watched this movie again |
| Jailhouse Rock | Vince Everett | Co-star Judy Tyler was killed in a car wreck on July 4, 1957, three days after filming ended. Presley refused to watch the movie because of this[1] | |
| 1958 | King Creole | Danny Fisher | Presley's favorite movie of the ones he made.[2] This was also the last Elvis movie filmed in black and white. |
| 1960 | G.I. Blues | Tulsa McLean | The 32nd Armored was Presley's regiment when he was in the army and in this movie. The soundtrack album spent over two years (111 weeks) on the Billboard charts! |
| Flaming Star | Pacer Burton | Andy Warhol's famous diptych of Presley as a cowboy came from a shot in this movie. | |
| 1961 | Wild in the Country | Glenn Tyler | Millie Perkins broke her arm when she had to slap Presley's character during filming. |
| Blue Hawaii | Chad Gates | The soundtrack album for this movie was Presley's most successful chart album. It spent twenty consecutive weeks on the #1 spot of the Billboard Top LP's chart in 1961-1962. | |
| 1962 | Follow That Dream | Toby Kwimper | |
| Kid Galahad | Walter Gulick | Remake of 1937 film, Presley was trained for the fight scenes by professional boxing coach Mushy Callahan. | |
| Girls! Girls! Girls! | Ross Carpenter | The only one of his feature films to be nominated for a Golden Globe. | |
| 1963 | It Happened at the World's Fair | Mike Edwards | Uncredited movie debut of Kurt Russell; he runs on screen and kicks Elvis in the shin. |
| Fun in Acapulco | Mike Windgren | Teri Garr makes her uncredited movie debut as an extra in this film. She also appeared as an uncredited extra in several more Presley movies. | |
| 1964 | Kissin' Cousins | Josh Morgan / Jodie Tatum | Elvis' only dual role. Presley loathed the "strawberry blond" wig he had to wear as the hillbilly cousin in this film[3], in part because it made him look as he had before deciding to dye his hair black in 1957. |
| Viva Las Vegas | Lucky Jackson | This was Presley's most successful film at the box office, returning more than $5 million to MGM on an investment of less than $1 million. | |
| Roustabout (film) | Charlie Rogers | Presley did his own stunts in this film. He received a head wound after insisting on doing a fight scene himself[4]. | |
| 1965 | Girl Happy | Rusty Wells | |
| Tickle Me | Lonnie Beale / Panhandle Kid | This is the only movie for which Presley did not record a new soundtrack. All the songs had been recorded between 1960 and 1963 and had already been released. | |
| Harum Scarum | Johnny Tyronne | The only film Elvis was paid a million dollars to act in, although part of this was paid in installments | |
| 1966 | Frankie and Johnny | Johnny | |
| Paradise, Hawaiian Style | Rick Richards | At age ten, this was Donna Butterworth's last picture. | |
| Spinout | Mike McCoy | President Lyndon B. Johnson visited the set and met Presley. | |
| 1967 | Easy Come, Easy Go | Lt. (j.g.) Ted Jackson | The ship featured in the first part of the movie is the USS Gallant, an ocean-going minesweeper. |
| Double Trouble | Guy Lambert | Only movie Annette Day ever made. | |
| Clambake | Scott Heyward / 'Tom Wilson' | The red sports car in this film is a 1959 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Racer. | |
| 1968 | Stay Away, Joe | Joe Lightcloud | |
| Speedway | Steve Grayson | Co-starred Nancy Sinatra | |
| Live a Little, Love a Little | Greg Nolan | Albert, the Great Dane in the movie, was not played by Presley's own dog, Brutus, despite longstanding rumours to the contrary. Presley's father is a model for one of the photo-shoots in the film. | |
| 1969 | Charro! | Jess Wade | Only film in which he was not filmed singing. This is the only movie in which Presley wears a beard. |
| The Trouble with Girls | Walter Hale | Only Presley release that was part of a double bill, with The Green Slime (1968). | |
| Change of Habit | Dr. John Carpenter | Only film where Presley is in a church. His last feature film role. | |
| 1970 | Elvis: That's the Way It Is | As himself | Concert film; shot during Presley's third season in Las Vegas. |
| 1972 | Elvis On Tour | As himself | Concert film; 1973 Golden Globe winner for Best Documentary film (it tied with Walls of Fire (1971)). |
| 2002 | New Gladiators | Karate documentary filmed in 1973-74; idea for the film and financing came from Presley. |
